A driver involved in a tragic collision with a group of bicyclists in Goodyear has been slapped with 11 misdemeanors but will not face felony charges, despite the incident leading to two deaths and leaving 17 others injured last year. Pedro Quintana-Lujan, 27, stands accused of plowing his pickup into the West Valley Cycling group during their Saturday morning ride on February 25, 2023, on Goodyear's Cotton Lane Bridge just south of MC85.
While the city prosecutor filed the misdemeanors late in February, the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office had previously dropped the ball on felony charges, citing insufficient evidence for a conviction. Goodyear police had found a small amount of THC in Quintana-Lujan’s system and he admitted to smoking the night before the crash. However, Arizona law requires more concrete proof to establish impairment solely by THC, as reported by AZFamily. According to the police investigation, Quintana-Lujan claimed his steering locked up, causing the crash, but an NTSB report and DPS findings contradicted his statement, confirming the truck's steering was functional.
Despite the new charges, many of the victims were kept in the dark and only discovered the developments on Monday. One victim's husband, Steven Malisa, whose wife Karen was one of the two fatalities, voiced his discontent with the county's decision and remains guarded about the new charges. "I don't know if that’s ever going to bring closure to me because my wife’s gone, and it’s tough to swallow that pill, but it's a pill I've swallowed for over a year now," he told AZFamily.
The suspect, who pleaded not guilty through his attorney, could face up to six months in jail, three years of unsupervised probation, and fines if convicted. Justin Atkinson, the Goodyear City Prosecutor, noted to ABC15 that Quintana-Lujan will not be re-arrested unless found guilty as these are misdemeanor charges. David Herzog, the leader of West Valley Cycling, expressed his group's disappointment with the county attorney's lack of action, "It does sadden us that our County Attorney office led by Rachel Mitchell has failed to protect the lives of cyclist and enforce accountability towards the driver of this crash that took two lives and injured 18," Herzog said.
Quintana-Lujan is scheduled to appear in court next on April 10, where the prosecution will be seeking the maximum sentencing allowed under the limited offenses available to them. The case has remained a contentious issue in the Goodyear community as the legal proceedings continue to unfold.
